The present invention relates to a system for discharging dried product, particularly for drying filters, drying units and the like.
It is known that drying filters are generally structurally constituted by a container in which a solid portion is separated from a liquid in a closed chamber that can optionally be pressurized; the separated portion is thereafter subjected to streams of hot air and/or to heating from the chamber walls and to stirring from an agitator, so as to eventually dry the product within the same system.
These drying filters have, in their lower part, a discharge hatch that is arranged either laterally or on the bottom thereof, is of the plug or swinging type, and can be opened for discharging the product that has to be transferred externally.
In order to achieve a good seal, discharge hatches are provided with an O-ring seal or a metal-to-metal seal that is particularly critical in operation, especially after discharging a first batch of separated product, since during discharge the hatches become soiled with the product and it is therefore necessary to perform accurate cleaning in order to ensure tightness.
To perform cleaning, it is necessary to resort to particular precautions, such as the use of glove boxes, which are expensive, or of other systems for protecting the operator or the environment, which involve very high costs and increased overall dimensions of the device that are difficult to meet.
Moreover, another problem that can be observed with the discharge systems of the prior art consists in that the hatches that are currently used do not allow to perform a metered discharge, since they simply allow opening or closure, with consequent escape of the product without the possibility to regulate the quantity.